Anthropology and Development - L48 4517 (WI)
Fall 2014
Tuesday 9-11:30 McMillan 150
Prof.Bret Gustafson
gustafson@wustl.edu
In this advanced seminar we will read and critique classic and contemporary ethnographies of ‘development’ and the ‘developing’
world. We will consider how anthropologists – as writers of ethnography – have engaged key debates on the theories, meanings,
practices, and consequences of ‘development.’ This includes the critique of the idea of development itself as an assumed expression
of inevitable ‘modernization’ and as an instrument and apparatus of power; the politics of race, gender, culture, class and
development processes and interventions; the linkages between ‘development’ and modalities of state power and rule; and social
movement and other forms of resistance. This course is designed to provide a graduate-level introduction to theory and
ethnography based on intensive reading and oral and written critique. It is open to advanced undergraduates and fulfills writingintensive (WI) requirements, as well as capstone requirements for some majors.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
PARTICIPATION (25%). Students are expected to (1) do the readings (2) prepare notes on the readings for class (3) come to class (4)
participate in class discussions (5) take notes in class (6) develop your understanding of the material through class discussion and
your own reading (7) write assignments that reflect your understanding of the material. More than one absence will bring down the
participation grade. Feel free to consult with professor about your ongoing participation.
ORAL PRESENTATION. Students will be selected to make presentations at least once during the semester. These must be written out
beforehand as a 5 page, double spaced commentary on the book (see below). The presentation, whether read, or presented orally,
should be approximately 12-15 minutes (strict). The presentation contributes to your participation grade. Work on content, clarity
of presentation, and questions generated for discussion. Practice. Consult with professor beforehand.
WRITTEN COMMENTARY (30%). A commentary is not a summary, although it may rapidly summarize key points and parts. It is a
critical assessment of (1) the work’s contributions (2) central theoretical concepts (3) methodological strategies (4) ethnographic
writing and theoretical strengths (5) its weaknesses (6) key questions for class discussion. The written commentary will be graded as
one of your writing assignments. You will be given the chance to rewrite.
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS (45%). In addition to the commentary, students will write and revise two other short papers during the
semester. The grade for each paper will be an average of the grade of the first draft and the revision. Undergraduate papers are
based on assignments (see schedule below). First drafts (x.1) will be graded and returned by the professor for revision into second
drafts (x.2). Students will have 2-3 weeks for each assignment and a week for revisions. We will share and discuss writing in class.
Grades will be weighted equally for form and substance. Graduate students may choose to write a 25-30 page paper on a topic of
their choosing, or write the short papers.
GRADING
Undergrad:
Participation
Presentation
Comment, 5 pp
Paper 1, 5 pp
Paper 2, 7 pp
Grad (term paper option):
Paper
70%
Participation
30% (including presentation)
25%
10%
20%
20%
25%
LATE PAPERS
Late papers will lose 4 points/day unless you have a documented hardship (medical, family loss).
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism or academic dishonesty of any kind or degree will result in a failing grade for the course.
READINGS
Reading critically and analytically with an eye to the relationship between question, theory, method, evidence, interpretation,
argumentation, and writing is a core activity of this course. We read to think about the author’s analytical substance and writing
technique. We will discuss strategies used by writers and the particulars of writing techniques at various scales. You should be an
active reader. Take notes while you read, re-read difficult sections, jot down key questions, concepts, terms, and doubts to bring to
class; make a note of page #s, concepts, excerpts, to discuss. You are expected to dedicate a significant amount of time and must
read continuously throughout the week to keep up. I reserve the right to spontaneously assess your reading. Additional articles will
be provided weekly, via Telesis. These are required for grad students and for students presenting that week’s text.
1
WRITING TIPS: HTTP://OPINIONATOR.BLOGS.NYTIMES.COM/CATEGORY/DRAFT/
BOOKS
1. Nash, June. 1993 [1979]. We Eat the Mines and the Mines Eat Us. New York: Columbia University Press. 978-0231080514
2. Ong, Aihwa. 1987. Spirits of Resistance and Capitalist Discipline: Factory Women in Malaysia. SUNY Press. 978-0887063817
3. Ferguson, James. 1991 (1990). The Anti-Politics Machine: Development, Depoliticization, and Bureaucratic Power in Lesotho.
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. 978-0816624379.
4. Elyachar, Julia. 2005. Markets of Dispossession: NGOs, Economic Development, and the State in Cairo. Durham: Duke
University Press. 978-0822335719.
5. Gustafson, Bret. 2009. New Languages of the State: Indigenous Resurgence and the Politics of Knowledge in Bolivia. Durham:
Duke University Press. 978-0822345466.
6. Collier, Stephen. 2011. Post-Soviet Social: Neoliberalism, Social Modernity, Biopolitics. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
978-0691148311.
7. Murray Li, Tania. 2014. Land’s End: Capitalist Relations on an Indigenous Frontier. Durham: Duke University Press. 9780822357056.
8. Golub, Alex. 2014. Leviathans at the Gold Mine: Creating Indigenous and Corporate Actors in Papua New Guinea. Durham:
Duke University Press. 978-0822355083.
9. Mattei, Ugo, and Laura Nader. 2008. Plunder: When the Rule of Law is Illegal. Malden, MA: Blackwell. 978-1405178945.
10. Goldman, Michael. 2006. Imperial Nature: The World Bank and Struggles for Social Justice in the Age of Globalization. New
Haven: Yale University Press. 978-0900119749
Book
Papers
8/26
Introduction: Anthropologists and Development
1 Assigned
9/2
Nash, We Eat the Mines
9/9
Ong, Spirits of Resistance
9/16
Nash & Ong: Gender, Class & Resistance
9/23
Ferguson, Anti-Politics Machine
1.1. Due
9/30
Elyachar, Markets of Dispossession
1.1. Returned
10/7
Ferguson & Elyachar: Governmentalities
10/14
Gustafson, New Languages of the State
10/21
Li, Land’s End
10/28
Gustafson & Li: Indigeneity, Capitalism, Coloniality
11/4
Collier, Post-Soviet Social
11/11
Golub, Leviathans at the Gold Mine
11/18
1.2. Due. 2 Assigned
2.1. Due
Collier, et al. Neoliberalism: Biopolitics or Dispossession?
11/25
Mattei and Nader, Plunder
12/2
Goldman, Imperial Nature
TBD
Scheduled exam date
2.1 Returned
Grad papers & 2.2 due
2
Presentation